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Take Action

The San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary needs your help. This important estuary conveys the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers to the Pacific Ocean, and sustains both rich ecosystems and the nation’s fourth largest metropolitan region. Everyone can play a part in preserving, protecting, and restoring this priceless resource. Below are some key actions:

Residents/Homeowners

Top 5 Things You Can Do

There are hundreds of big and little things you can do to help protect and restore the estuary. In 2007, wastewater and stormwater agencies got together and put together their list of the top 5 things residents can do to take action for the Bay and Estuary:

• 1. Pick up at least one piece of litter every day There’s plenty out there. Litter left on streets can flow to storm drains and straight into streams and the Bay.
• 2. Get back to basics! Instead of buying water in plastic bottles, try running your own tap and filling a reusable bottle, such as stainless steel or glass. Use regular—not antibacterial—soap for handwashing. Avoid soap products with the active ingredient triclosan, a registered pesticide that accumulates in the bodies of humans and ultimately fish and can be toxic to aquatic organisms.
• 3. Go all the way with compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). Reduce your energy consumption by using only compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) or Light-Emitting Diodes (LED). Remember that CFLs contain some mercury. When these CFLs finally do give out, dispose of them properly so that mercury doesn't find its way to the Bay. Find a disposal location near you by going to www.baywise.info.
• 4. Get rid of your fat the right way—cooking fat, that is. Don’t pour cooking byproducts like fats, oils and grease down indoor drains where they can clog pipes. Throw small quantities in the trash and take larger quantities (such as turkey fryer oil) to a collection facility; go to www.baywise.info for locations near you.
• 5. Oil and water don’t mix. Our Bay has been through a lot this year—please do your part by keeping your car maintained. Each year in the United States an estimated 180 million gallons of used oil are disposed of improperly - dripped, spilled, or poured onto the ground, directly into waterways, or down storm drains. Oil from leaky vehicles can have a real impact on the Bay and local creeks; one quart of motor oil can pollute up to 250,000 gallons of surface water. If you change your own oil, recycle the used oil when you’re done. For helpful information to keep this resolution, go to www.baywise.info.

Developed by the Bay Area Stormwater Agencies Association (BASMAA) and the Bay Area Clean Water Agences (BACWA)

Boaters

As we boat on the Bay or Delta, we bring with us a host of potential hazards to the estuarine environment. Just by tossing out some oily bilge water, cleaning the boat or flushing the head, you could be polluting the very waters that make boating here so enjoyable. That anti-fouling paint you use can be toxic to aquatic plants and shellfish. A dose of chlorine from your holding tank can kill fish or shellfish in your vicinity.

What You Can Do:

• Use a pump-out station to discharge wastes. See below for a link to maps of pumpout stations.
• Get a holding tank if you don’t already have one.
• Bring trash back to the dock, especially plastic and tangled fishing gear.
• Use reusable cups, plates and utensils, rather than paper or plastic.
• Recycle your motor oil. For information on where to drop off used oil, visit www.baywise.org

For more information:

Each guide includes a map with locations of pumpout and dump stations throughout the Bay-Delta region. Boaters can also learn more about the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary's natural resources, the environmental impacts of boat sewage pollution, and how to boat clean and green. Two guides are available:

• San Francisco Bay
• Pumpout Map 2007/2008 (PDF)
• Guide 2007/2008 (PDF)
• San Joaquin & Sacramento River Delta Pumpout Map & Guide 2007/2008 (PDF)
• Pumpout Map 2007/2008 (PDF)
• Guide 2007/2008 (PDF)